In open places, in moist sand, probably also as a weed; Distribution: From Pakistan and India to China and Vietnam.

Reported from Sind and Punjab (R.R.Stewart, l.c.).
Although the spike of L. squarrosa looks like a bisexual flower, i.e. it does not include the hypogynous glumes found in most other species of the genus, e.g. the shape of the glume-like bracts fit well to the genus Lipocarpha.